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Original poster

car seats....why bother with one abroad

19 replies

greyriver · 22/09/2005 10:43

Supposed to being abroad with my DH, 7mo DD and my parents (who are hiring a car) i have just spoken to them and mentioned about getting a car seat in the hire car to which the response was...."your always throwing up obstacles, why can't you just sit her on your knee, we wont be going over 30 and we wont be going very far".....I am sooo mad i cant even believe they would suggest such a stupid thing....is it just me?! arrrghh....

OP posts:

lucykate · 22/09/2005 10:48

no, its not you being awkward, its you being very sensible, what if you were in an accident. they'd never forgive themselves. even at 30, the baby could be seriously hurt if not protected properly. stick to your guns on this one.

Iklboo · 22/09/2005 10:49

Oh right. So there are NO car crashes abroad and foreign windscreens are padded and totally childproof are they?
I'm due in 6 weeks and was talking to my folks abiout something similar. I got "well, you never had a child seat, you never even wore a seat belt and you're OK. What's your problem?" .
Yes, but thankfully we were never involved in a crash. If we had have been, you;d have been a child light in the family wouldn't you?
FIL is the same with nephew. "He'll be OK. He's a big boy, he can hold on to the handle".
Uh-huh. And if you think you're going to see/have OUR child without a car seat mate, think again. (Luckily DH is as militant as me on the issue)

Cristina7 · 22/09/2005 10:56

I've been on holiday where I just sat DD (5 months then) on my lap. There were no seatbelts at the back either for DS. We always travelled on the back seats and there were always two adults there. Risky? Yes, a risk i didn't enjoy taking but had to ocasionally. After a few days i got into the local mindset again and didn't see it as quite so risky.

What do others do when going on holiday abroad? We always take a taxi from the airport to the hotel and we've never carried a baby seat with us, not least because we didn't own a car till DS was about 3. And in case you think it only happens abroad, we've ordered a hire car with baby seat to take us to Heathrow and it arrived without one. Same for the one waiting for us on return. How do others go about it?

octavia · 22/09/2005 11:02

I always took ours with us. It went into hold with the cases.

Kelly1978 · 22/09/2005 11:04

took ours with us. No way was drivign around without one.

bonym · 22/09/2005 11:04

Always take ours - take it to the plane and then either put it in the overhead bins or get them to stow it with the pushchairs.

sansouci · 22/09/2005 11:09

Absolute madness to go anywhere near a car without a car seat for a child under the age of 12. Even bigger risk for child on adult's knee! In the event of even a small collision, child would easily go flying into the windshield. Please don't do this! [panic emoticon]

Original poster

greyriver · 22/09/2005 11:16

thank goodness its not just me that thinks its utter madness to travel without one.....

this is my 1st DD, how do i transport a child seat with me? both of dd's car seats are quite bulky, are there any smaller (er - easier to transport generic fitting) car seats anyone knows of - if such a thing exists...

OP posts:

WestCountryLass · 22/09/2005 11:23

WTF?

Me thinks it is them throwing up obstacles. Why not jsut book the blinkin' seat??????

PollyLogos · 22/09/2005 11:43

Well I don't know where you are going on holiday but if you are coming to Greece (where I am) I would highly recommend bringing one. Many Greeks don't use them and considering that they have (I think) the highest rate of fatal accidents in europe i think it is just ludicrous that they don't use them!

Don't even think about risking your precious dd, especially if you are not used to driving on the other side of the road.

tiredemma · 22/09/2005 12:14

all of the reputable car hire companies will hire car seats for approx 5 euros a day.

mommie · 22/09/2005 12:59

stick to your guns greyriver. you are in the right. i get this sort of thing too. it's damned irritating - but you are right and you must have a car seat. you should quote martha lane fox to them. she is an adult, driving along without a car seat and is still trying to get back on her feet after an accident at xmas (in morocco)

mommie · 22/09/2005 13:01

sorry ! i mean martha lane fox was without a seat belt. she is a bit too old for a car seat....

Cooperoo · 22/09/2005 13:01

Why not take your seat with you? I have travelled with the infant style carrier and the stage 1 (Maxi Cosi Priori XP) car seat on numerous occasions. I just check them in with the luggage. I do get a fragile tag for them and worry about them getting damaged but IMO this risk is minimal compared with not using them! Eeek. How scary that people still think this is OK. I don't know why I am shocked though as I live in Cyprus and I can't remember seeing a Cypriot child strapped into a car let alone in a car seat! I understand the problem of not knowing if the seat will fit though (we have our own car still in the UK) and also it does take up a lot of your luggage allowance. I hope you can resolve the problem. Good Luck.

Hazellnut · 22/09/2005 13:07

Sympathise - we are going away next year with some friends who have 2 children and they suggested the same thing to save moeny on hiring cars (i.e. you'd need less cars cos the children would be on knees). DD will be 17 months or so and my thinking is why would you not use one abroad if you wouldn't use one here ?! Also, most european and western countires (at least) its a legal requiremetn anyway !

LIZS · 22/09/2005 13:33

Take it onto the plane with you as hand luggage. If there is a spare seat she may be able to sit on it for the flight but not take off or landing or you could bubble wrap it and put through as oversized baggage. No way would I travel in a car at home or abroad with a baby and no car seat. Alternatively hire one with the car - most companies do them.

fwiw pils were same over ds needing a booster at 5. I simply insisted it was no issue, we'd bring our own thank you.

Original poster

greyriver · 22/09/2005 14:56

cooperoo if iam honest i was worried about my car seat getting damaged - but good point about DD being WAY more imoportant and that has made up my mind! I will organise a car which i know the car seat will fit into (best laid plans and all...hmmm)!! if the car seat comes off the plane scratched and wrecked so what.

OP posts:

Cooperoo · 22/09/2005 15:22

I have done approx 10 flights now with BA to and from Cyprus and my car seats have always survived. It would be a good idea to bubble wrap them or something but we always used the seats in the car to the airport and were never organised enough to pack it at check in. It just goes as oversize luggage and I hope that the luggage people see the fragile tag and don't throw it around! (Wishful thinking probably) The seats have never seemed to be damaged though. Why not ring the airline and see if they will give you a bit of extra baggage allowance for it, but if they agree see if you can get it in writing too for the check in staff. Our big car seat weighs nearly 10kg . HTH

dramaqueen72 · 22/09/2005 15:31

our car hire company in Portugal hires the most awful crappy car seats........they tried to get me to take one without a strap between the childs legs once -really useful!!NOT! ever since them I insist we take ours. PIL and BIl think I'm such a pain in the arse, but I dont care, we take it thro with us and they store it with the pushchairs at the last minute, or some companies (like thomsonfly) take it with the suitcases. its alway come thro unharmed, and tis worth tis weight in gold on the half built roads and dirt trakcs we have to drive down! my dd is worth any of the hassle of carrying it in airports, or of tutting from inlaws.

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